A Toledo plumber named Joe, unhappy with Sen. Barack Obama’s economic recovery proposals, gave Republican Sen. John McCain an opening Wednesday to attack the Democrat’s plans to “spread the wealth around.”
But Obama brushed aside the jab and sought to link McCain to what he called President Bush’s failed economic policies.
McCain invoked the troubles of plumber Joe Wurzelbacher during the candidates’ debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., their third and final match of the campaign. The plumber had complained to Obama earlier this week that the Democrat’s tax policies would prevent him from buying a business.
“The whole premise behind Senator Obama’s plans are class warfare, spread the wealth around,” McCain said. “Why would you want to increase anybody’s taxes right now?”
Obama, who told Wurzelbacher that he didn’t want to punish small businesses, but rather hoped to “spread the wealth around,” said he plans to cut taxes for 95 percent of Americans, and also would exempt small businesses from certain taxes.
“We are experiencing the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression,” Obama said. “What we haven’t seen yet is a rescue package for the middle class.”
Dueling economic proposals from the candidates, aimed at easing the borrowing, foreclosure and tax problems of Americans, were the centerpiece of their 90-minute debate, moderated by veteran newsman Bob Schieffer.
“Americans are hurting right now, and they’re angry,” McCain said several times. “They are angry and they have a reason to be angry, and they want this country to go in a new direction.”
The two also tangled over associations, notably Obama’s past involvement with one-time domestic terrorist William Ayers and the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, a progressive community group embroiled in voter registration fraud allegations.
“You launched your political career in Mr. Ayers’ living room,” McCain said.
Obama described limited connections to both Ayers and ACORN, and said Ayers is not an adviser and would have no role in an Obama administration. And he sought to turn the attacks against McCain by charging him with negative campaigning.
The Illinois Democrat repeatedly criticized his opponent’s association with President Bush, saying McCain wanted “eight more years of the same thing.”
That sparked a sharp retort from the Arizona Republican: “Senator Obama, I am not President Bush,” McCain said. “If you want to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago.”
Much was at stake in the debate, especially for McCain. The nation’s
economic troubles helped solidify Obama’s lead in national polls and in several key battleground states, with many voters judging Obama better able to handle the economy.
Earlier this week, McCain proposed $52.5 billion in tax cuts for retirees and investors, plus an increase in deposit insurance. Obama’s $60 billion plan calls for penalty-free withdrawals from retirement accounts, tax credits for employers and a temporary moratorium on foreclosures.
The two complained bitterly of each other’s negative campaign tactics.
McCain charged the Illinois Democrat with spending more on negative campaign ads than any candidate in history.
Obama took issue with McCain running mate Sarah Palin’s claim that he “palled around with terrorists.”
“I don’t mind being attacked for the next three weeks,” Obama said. “What the American people can’t afford, though, is four more years of failed economic policies.”
